Requests for Recipe Ideas for and Thoughts on Meatless Fridays

One of the things that fascinates me is experimental cooking. Today is Friday. With today being Friday, that means that all Roman Catholics are to abstain from meat today. For those of you who argue that Catholics are not required to abstain from meat outside of Lent, I will say you are (mostly) wrong.

From the 1983 Code of Canon Law (the latest revision to Canon Law, of which all Roman Catholics are bound to follow; Eastern Catholics have their own Code of Canon Law):

Can. 1250: The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251: Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252: The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

In the United States, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (the USCCB) has determined that outside of Lent, abstinence from meat is the usual way to fulfill the act of penance for Friday. However, the USCCB has said that US Catholics may eat meat on Fridays outside of Lent AS LONG AS one does an alternative act of penance, which is determined by that person. As each conference of bishops has the power to determine fast and abstinence regulations for their own countries, they could, at any time, rescind the alternative penance option and reimpose mandatory abstinence from meat on Fridays even outside of Lent (as the conference of bishops in England has done). I will also add that unlike Eastern Catholics, Roman Catholics are free to consume dairy products and products made from animal fats (like mayonnaise) on days of abstinence.

With this in mind, it seems that meat is a daily staple in the diets of Americans. If we cannot eat meat on Fridays, what are we to eat?? I see this as a way to be creative with our food, to think outside the box and come up with something tasty that doesn't involve meat. I hear that other cultures from other countries with a Catholic background have, over the years, come up with different food ideas for Fridays (both in and outside of Lent). I think we can all benefit from sharing some of these food ideas.

Since I like to experiment with cooking, I love to find new recipes to try out (with my family). So now, could you please share a recipe of something you like to make on Fridays (the recipe cannot contain meat), or if you don't have a recipe, at least describe the food? Please share via the comment box below. You can also find me on twitter (twitter username is @rctechgeek). Feel free to subscribe to my rss feed as well.

And yes, on days of abstinence, you can still drink coffee (or tea), so instead of drinking your ordinary coffee (or tea), drink some tasty Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link or click on the picture below to access the store and purchase). Trust me, it's good coffee (in most instances, much better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some (just keep it away from your computer keyboard or laptop/tablet). For the summer, they are also offering Iced Coffee as well. If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well.

Feel free to try out my apps for Windows Phone: Mobile Media Manager, a media player app I made which has some features which (I feel) are missing from the system Zune player, and BSA Eagle Tracker, an app that boy scouts can use to track their progress to Eagle Scout (when the scout handbook isn't always handy). New versions of the media player with new features/bug fixes is coming within a week (most likely sooner than this, but definitely within 2 weeks) of passing Microsoft Apphub certification. Free version of Mobile Media Manager is now in Apphub certification, with paid version to follow. BSA Eagle Tracker is also getting a bug fix for an obscure bug I noticed recently.

BSA Eagle Tracker download: http://bit.ly/Mm1Upo
Mobile Media Manager (paid version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
Mobile Media Manager (free version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE

An Example of Anglican Mass Settings in the Roman Rite

A while back, I did a post (found here) on how it's possible for Anglican Mass settings to be used within the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (with some modifications). Well, now I (finally) have an example to back this up.

The piece I did was Healey Willan's famous (Anglican Rite 1) setting of the Gloria. I would consider it to be the "Missa De Angelis" of the Anglican world. Please keep in mind that because this uses the new Mass translations, it cannot officially be used in Mass until Advent, when the new Mass translations go into effect.

Link for download (file is pdf file): Healey Willan Gloria Roman Rite Download

For those of you who want to get (somewhat of) a feel of how it sounds, you can listen to the original version on YouTube

Choirmasters, priests, and choir members, I would like to know if you would ever use this in your parish, given the chance. If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts about this or liturgical music for the new translation in general, I would like to hear them. You may make them known via the comment box or on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Can we please have some Holy Day of Obligation Uniformity?

As many of you know, yesterday was the Feast of the Ascension, a Holy Day of Obligation in the Roman Rite. The normal day of this feast day is Thursday, but in recent years, the USCCB (US Catholic Conference of Bishops) has allowed the feast of the Ascension (for the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite) to be moved to the following Sunday instead of having it on the original day of Thursday. Furthermore, it is up to the local bishop to determine this, leaving much confusion with the laity as to when this is. This is normally made known before this day, but travelers are left out of the mix as a result of this "option". In order to be safe and avoid this mess, you could go to an Ordinary Form Mass on Ascension Thursday, go to an Extraordinary Form Mass on Ascension Thursday, or attend any Divine Liturgy (the name for Mass in the Eastern Rites) at any Eastern Rite church (in communion with Rome) on Ascension.

I have noticed that in recent years, there has been a decline in the handling of Holy Days of Obligation. For many feasts, they have become "optional" (you don't have to go, but it's highly recommended that you do go) or become "movable" (such as Ascension Thursday). This, I think, has partially to do with the busyness of society and how it views church. People have become too lazy or too busy to take time out to go to church on a day other than Sunday. In the Eastern Rites, there's not exactly Holy Days of Obligation, but there are days where the laity are expected to come to church to celebrate a particular event in the life of Christ and the Church. In some Catholic churches, if there's a holy day of obligation that's optional, the Mass schedule isn't changed to accommodate the feast day. Besides, those Holy Days of Obligation are only a handful of days out of the calendar year, so is it too hard to take some time out to go to Mass on those days?

We need to get back to viewing Holy Days of Obligation as days where you always go and be part of the Mass with joy. Those days that are "optional" still need to be promoted as days where you attend Mass. You always get something good and helpful out of the Mass, so why would you want to skip Mass on those days? If there's a feast day in the Church, make some effort to go to Mass.  Those Feasts are on those days for a (very good) reason, so why must we mess with their dates while confusing the laity at the same time? It would be nice to have the Holy Days of Obligation uniform throughout all the dioceses in the US so that you don't have to inquire which day this Holy Day of Obligation is actually on in this Diocese. The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and all the Eastern Rites seem to not have this problem, so why does the Ordinary Form have it?

If you have any thoughts of your own on this, I would like to hear them (just put them in the comment box below). Feel free to tell me on Twitter as well (username is "rctechgeek", link to profile is in the "About Me" section).